Pinky Rides Shotgun: Our Service Dog and the Mazda Miata

Written By Dreamliner .

Most dogs ride in a car. Pinky rides in a car.

There's a difference, and once you've seen it, you can't unsee it.

Top Down, Ears Back

When David pulls the Mazda Miata around and drops the top, Pinky knows exactly what's happening. He hops into the passenger seat and settles in. Not curled up. Not sprawled across the seat. Not hanging his head out the side like the dogs in the movies.

He sits up straight. Back against the seat. Chest out. Eyes on the road. Like a person.

Honestly, he looks like he's about to ask David if they can stop for coffee.

The wind blows his ears back, his mouth opens into the biggest grin you've ever seen, and his tongue just hangs there, happy as can be. Every so often he turns his head to check out the scenery, the palm trees, the tall buildings along the water, and then he goes right back to watching the road. Somebody has to keep an eye on David's driving.

"I Think That's a Happy Pinky"

On one of those rides, David turned the camera on and asked, "Think Pinky likes the Miata. What do you think?"

Pinky didn't answer. He didn't have to. He just kept grinning into the wind.

"I think that's a happy Pinky right there," David said. And he was right.

The Pinky Fan Club

Here's the funny part. Nobody looks at the car. Nobody looks at David either (sorry, David).

Everybody looks at Pinky.

People smile. People laugh. People wave. At stoplights, folks point and nudge whoever's next to them. We've had more waves from strangers since Pinky started riding shotgun than in all our years of driving before. And Pinky takes it all in stride, sitting tall, like a celebrity who's used to the attention.

A Little Joy Goes a Long Way

Pinky works hard. He watches over April every day, and on the hard days he doesn't leave her side. So when he gets a chance to just be a dog, or in his case, a very dignified passenger, we love giving it to him.

And we think there's something good in it for everybody else too. You never know what kind of day the person in the next lane is having. Maybe a black-and-white dog grinning in a little convertible is the thing that makes them smile.

"A merry heart doeth good like a medicine." Proverbs 17:22

If you see a little convertible with a dog sitting up like a person in the passenger seat, go ahead and wave. Pinky will be happy to see you.

With love, April, David & Pinky

Dreamliner .
Next

Meet Pinky: The Service Dog Behind Our Story